Toy and delayed release propelling mechanism therefore

ABSTRACT

A toy having a spring driven propelling mechanism including an axially movable rod which is propelled to the rear of the vehicle by the spring and which, when the vehicle is placed against a vertical barrier, propells the vehicle forward by reaction force. The delayed release mechanism includes a frame having parallel sides and end walls in which the rod is journaled for axial movement. The sides have indentations which extent inwardly toward, but do not contact, the rod and its surrounding spring. The rod carries an elastic member which is pushed forwardly of the indentations when the spring is compressed. The spring gradually forces the elastic member past the indentations and, when the elastic member is clear of the indentations, the spring is permitted to rapidly expand, suddenly causing the rod to move toward the barrier, causing the vehicle to rapidly move forward.

United States Patent Cosp June 20, 1972 [54] TOY AND DELAYED RELEASEPROPELLING MECHANISM Primary Evamr'ner-Louis G. Mancene THERE REAssistant Examiner-D L. Weinhold F0 An0rney-Roylance, Abrams, Berdo andKaul [72] Inventor: Enrique A. Cosp, Jejui 438, Asuncion, 7

Paraguay, South America 1 [57] ABSTRACT [22] Filed: Sept. 4, 1970 Atoyglzlwing a stplring grivienipropellingnmcecharxsm inclutdizg I an ax]ymova e ro w 1c is prope e to t e rearo t e Appl 69,812 vehicle by thespring and which, when the vehicle is placed against a vertical barrier,propells the vehicle forward by reac- 52 U.S. c1 ..'..46/202 lion f Thedelayed release mechanism includes a frame 5| 1m. 0. ..A63h 11/10 havingParallel Sides and end walls in which the rod is jour- [58] FieldofSearch ..46/20l,202, 206, 221 hahid foraxial'movemem- The Sides haveihdemahohswhich I extent inwardly toward, but do not contact, the rodand its sur- [56] References Cited rounding spring. The rod carries anelastic member which is pushed forwardly of the indentations when thespring is com- UNITED STATES PATENTS pressed, The spring graduallyforces the elastic member past the indentations and, when the elasticmember is clear of the 2'7886l3 4/1957 F' e a] X indentations, thespring is permitted to rapidly expand, sud- 5 2/1956 fields denlycausing the rod to move toward the barrier, causing the 2,803,922 8/1957Holt..... ,..46/202 vehicle to rapidly move forward 3,148,478 9/1964Miller ..46/202 X I 3,392,484 7/1968 Ryan et al ..46 /202 4 Claims, 4Drawing Figures 1 l5 l4 I 9L l I ll l3 l6" :25 1' i4 2 9 5 6 I l v 1 iiI 1. I I 9' so 2 23 5 '1 II I 20 1 17k. I H! 22 2 7 I J1 1 t 1 r 3 15:4- |2 3 PATENTEbaunzo m2 3. 670,453

F 4 INVENTOR ENRIQUE A. COSP ATTORNEYS.

TOY AND DELAYED RELEASE PROPELLING MECHANISM THEREFORE This inventionrelates to spring propelled objects and especially to spring propelledtoy vehicles with delayed release means.

Spring propelled devices in many fonns are well known in the toy field,including spring propelled vehicles. Specifically, it is well known toprovide a wheeled toy with spring means designed to act against a fixerbarrier for the purpose of causing the vehicle to be propelled across asurface by reaction force in response to the release of the spring bymanually operated means of some kind.

In all of the known prior art, it has been necessary to manually actuatea latching device or the like in order to permit the toy to operate.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a release mechanism,primarily for use in a toy, by which release of the spring energy isautomatically accomplished afier a time delay.

A further object is to provide a wheeled toy incorporating a springpropulsion device which operates after a delay following storage ofenergy in the spring.

Briefly summarized, the invention includes a vehicle body, a framemounted in the body, a drive member mounted in the frame for axialbidirectional movement with respect thereto, a

spring urging the drive member to an extended position in which itprotrudes beyond the limits of the body, and stop means for limiting themotion of the drive member. An elastic member is mounted on and carriedby the drive member and is movable axially within the frame with thedrive member. Indentations protrude inwardly from the frame toward therod and tend to resist movement of the elastic member past theindentations. When the spring is manually compressed and then releasedthe elastic member is gradually forced past the indentations by thespring until it clears the indentations at which time the spring energyis suddenly released causing the drive member to be rapidly moved to itsextended position. When the vehicle is placed adjacent a barrier, thesudden extension of the drive member causes the vehicle to move byreaction force. The time occupied by forcing the elastic member past theindentations introduces a time delay between energy storage and energyrelease.

In order that the manner in which the foregoing and other objects areattained in accordance with the invention can be understood in detail,particularly advantageous embodiments thereof will be described withreference to the accompaning drawings, which form a part of thespecification, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a preferred embodiment of the inventionwith the drive member in its extended position;-

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial bottom view showing the delay release I mechanismwith the spring in its compressed condition; and

FIG. 4 is a vertical section along lines 4-4 of FIG. 2. As shown in FIG.1, a preferred embodiment of the invention includes a vehicle body '1which is provided withdownwardly extending support members 2 which havethat the body could take the shape of any kind of vehicle or othersuitable configuration. Of greater consequence in FIG. 1

is the provision of a frame 4 mounted beneath body 1, or

within the body in the event of a hollow structure such as that shown inthe drawings. A drive member comprising a rod 5 is supported for axialmovement in frame 4 and extends therethrough. At the rear of the vehiclerod 5 is attached to an impact member 6 which terminates in an elasticbumper 7 made of rubber or soft plastic or the like. As will bedescribed hereinafter, the apparatus of the present invention isdesigned to cause rod 5 and impact member 6 to be moved toward the rearof the vehicle in a rapid motion in the direction of arrow 8 so thatwhen the vehicle is placed with the rear portion of the vehicle adjacenta substantially vertical barrier or wall 9 the bumper 7 contacts thewall and, by reaction force, causes the vehicle to move quickly in thedirection of arrow 10 along a surface 11 on which the wheels 3 rest.

The rod and impact member are shown in FIG. 1 protrudingfrom therear ofthe vehicle to their greatest extent, a condition which will be referredto hereinafter as the extended position. The position occupied in FIG. 1would be that which the vehicle would occupy for a very brief period oftime after the rod and impact member had been forced rearwardly in theoperation of the mechanism so that, in this condition, the vehicle wouldbe rapidly moving away from barrier 9.

The mechanism by which the above operation is performed and by which adelay is introduced is more clearly shown in the bottom view of FIG. 2in which like numerals are used for identification. As will be seen inFIG. 2, a horizontal brace 12 extends across the interior of the vehiclebody and is attached thereto. A plate 13 is connected to brace 12 bysuitable fasteners such as bolts 14 and nuts 15. Frame 4 is formedintegrally with, or securely attached to, plate 13 and includeslongitudinal sides 16 and 17 and transverse end walls 18 and 19. Sideand ends walls 16-19 are formed into a rectangle, the long dimension ofwhich is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. End walls 18and 19 are provided with openings through which rod 5 passes. Atransverse pin 20 passes through and is attached to rod 5. A rigidannular washer 21 surrounds rod 5 and lies between pin 20 and end wall19. Washer 21 can conveniently be made of a very hard rubber or plasticmaterial and need not be resilient. The function of washer 21 and pin 20is to limit the axial motion of the drive assembly including member 5, 6and 7 in the axial direction, especially to the rear of the vehicle. Aresilient member 22 is provided with a central opening and surrounds rod5 between pin 20 and end wall 18. A compression coil spring 23 alsosurrounds rod 5 and extends between the inner surface of end wall 18 andresilient member 22. Side walls 16 and 17 are provided with inwardlyextending indentations or dimples 25 and 26 which extend toward eachother at approximately the mid point of the side walls of frame 4. Itwill be observed that the distance between the inner limits ofindentations 25 and 26 is greater than the maximum diameter of spring 23and, hence, substantially greater than the diameter of rod 5. However,this distance is less the maximum transverse dimension of resilientmember 22.

This can more clearly be seen in the sectional view in FIG. 4 in whichthe dimension d between the inner limits of these indentations isclearly smaller than the transverse dimension of member 22. It willfurther be observed in FIG. 4 that member 22 is substantially square.This, however, is not a critical factor as the resilient member can takeon substantially any shape so long as the outer transverse limits of theresilient member occupy a distance greater than the distance d of FIG. 4between the indentations. The resilient member must, of course, besmaller than the transverse distance between the remainder of the wallsso that it can move relatively freely in the axial or longitudinaldirection of the vehicle.

In operation, the spring is compressed by placing bumper 7 against afirm surface such as barrier 9 and then pressing the body of thevehicle, carrying the frame, toward the barrier in the direction ofarrow 30. Movement of the vehicle body and frame 4 toward the barriercauses the rod 5 to move axially toward the front of the vehicle,carrying with it pin 20 and,

with the pin acting against the elastic member 22, carrying the elasticmember and one end of the spring toward end wall 18. When the spring isfully compressed and the pressure against the vehicle body is removedthe apparatus appears-from below as shown in FIG. 3 with spring 23 fullycompressed, member 6 drawn inwardly almost to end wall 19, rod 5protruding forwardly from the frame, and elastic member 22 pressingagainst the forward surfaces of indentations 25 and 26. However, thereis no apparent motion in the structure for some period of time so longall remains as shown in FIG. 3. However, the force of spring 23continually presses rearwardly against the forward surface of elasticmember 22, causing it to gradually creep between the inner surfaces ofindentations 25 and 26. After some period of time, which is a functionof the characteristics of spring 23, the dimension of gap d, and theelastic characteristics of member 22, the elastic member moves slightlyrearwardly until the outer edges thereof reach the innermost portions ofthe indentations at which time there is no longer any restraining forcetending to keep the elastic member forward of the indentations. At thatpoint, the spring is permitted to extend rapidly to its fullest limit,or to the limits imposed bythe distance between end walls 18 and 19.When .the spring extends to its fullest dimensions it carries with itelastic member 22 and pin 20 and, accordingly, rod 5. The structure thenvery rapidly-retums to the position shown in FIG. 2, causing suddenrelative motion between rod 5 and body 1 of the vehicle: If bumper 7 hasbeen resting against barrier 9, rod 5 is prevented from moving.Accordingly, the spring forces end wall 18 to move, carrying with it allof frame 4, plate '13 and the body of the vehicle. The vehicle then ispropelled forwardly as a result of this sudden motion and glides acrosssurface 11 until stopped by friction or another object e As will beseen, in the rearward motion of rod 5 relative to the frame, washer 21provides an impact buffer between pin 20 and end wall l9.

In a lightweight plastic vehicle of approximately three inches overalllength and with a frame and remaining structure proportionedapproximately as shown in FIG. 2, and having a gap between indentations25 and 26 of about inch, an elastic member of rectangular shape havingapproximately the resiliency of a pencil eraser and a thickness of aboutl/ l 6 inch was found to give a delay of roughly seconds betweencompression of the spring and the point in time at which member 22worked its way past indentations 25 and 26.

It will be readily apparent that the delay structure disclosed herein isusable in devices other than toy automotive vehicles, and that thedevice need not, in fact, be a wheeled vehicle at all. While oneadvantageous embodiment has been chosen to illustrate the invention iswill be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications can be made therein without departing from the scope ofthe invention as defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A toy vehicle comprising the combination of a vehicle body;

a frame mounted on said body, saidframe including two substantiallyparallel side walls each of said side walls having a protrusionextending inwardly toward the other side wall, the protrusions beinglocated opposite each other, and

end walls substantially perpendicular to said side walls;

a drive member carried by said end walls of said frame and mounted forlongitudinal movement relative to said frame between a retractedposition and an extended position said drive member. including an endportion which protrudes beyond said vehicle body in at least saidextended position;

a resilient member carried by said drive member in a position to bemovable longitudinally of said frame from one side'of said protrusionsto the other side thereof when said drive member is moved from itsretracted position to its extended position, said resilient member beingcarried by said drive member to come in contact with said protrusionsand to resist movement of said drive member during said contact andwhile in its retracted position; spring means carried by said frame andcoupled to said drive member and'said resilient member to urge saiddrive member toward its extended position against the resistance tomovement provided by said resilient member and said protrusions, saiddrive member being mounted in said frame sufficiently freely to becapable of sudden longitudinal movement when said resilient member isurged past said protrusions bysaids ring means. H 2. A vehicle accordingto c arm 1 wherern said resilient said spring is positioned between oneof said end walls and said resilient member.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said drive.

member comprises a rod passing through said frame, and

an impact portion protruding beyond and to the rear of said vehicle bodyand adapted to be placed against a fixed, substantially vertical barrierso that the vehicle is driven forward by reaction force when said drivemember moves from said retracted position to said extended position.

l l t I!

1. A toy vehicle comprising the combination of a vehicle body; a framemounted on said body, said frame including two substantially parallelside walls each of said side walls having a protrusion extendinginwardly toward the other side wall, the protrusions being locatedopposite each other, and end walls substantially perpendicular to saidside walls; a drive member carried by said end walls of said frame andmounted for longitudinal movement relative to said frame between aretracted position and an extended position said drive member includingan end portion which protrudes beyond said vehicle body in at least saidextended position; a resilient member carried by said drive member in aposition to be movable longitudinally of said frame from one side ofsaid protrusions to the other side thereof when said drive member ismoved from its retracted position to its extended position, saidresilient member being carried by said drive member to come in contactwith said protrusions and to resist movement of said drive member duringsaid contact and while in its retracted position; spring means carriedby said frame and coupled to said drive member and said resilient memberto urge said drive member toward its extended position against theresistance to movement provided by said resilient member and saidprotrusions, said drive member being mounted in said frame sufficientlyfreely to be capable of sudden longitudinal movement when said resilientmember is urged past said protrusions by said spring means.
 2. A vehicleaccording to claim 1 wherein said resilient member is a substantiallyflat rubber body having a central opening through which said drivemember passes.
 3. A vehicle according to claim 2 wherein said spring isa compression coil spring surrounding a portion of said drive member,and said spring is positioned between one of said end walls and saidresilient member.
 4. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said drivemember comprises a rod passing through said frame, and an impact portionprotruding beyond and to the rear of said vehicle body and adapted to beplaced against a fixed, substantially vertical barrier so that thevehicle is driven forward by reaction force when said drive member movesfrom said retracted position to said extended position.